2012 Bordeaux Harvest First Vintage For de Pressac as Grand Cru Classe

Fresh off the heels of being promoted to Grand Cru Classe’ Jean Francois Quenon, the owner of Chateau de Pressac found time to discuss the 2012 Bordeaux harvest at his St. Emilion estate.

Jeff Leve At Chateau de Pressac, did you continue your program of renovating your wine making facilities this year?

Jean Francois Quenon “Yes. We completed our new fermentation cellar. Now, we have 10 small concrete vats ranging from 45, 50 and 60 hectoliters with a punching down and temperature control system. Also, now everything is moved by gravity. Plus we have a new barrel room too.”

Jeff Leve How did that help you with the 2012 Bordeaux harvest?

Jean Francois Quenon “This allowed us to be more precise with the plots of our St. Emilion vineyard and vinification.”

Jeff Leve Didn’t you also recently add optical sorting and new destemming equipment as well?

Jean Francois Quenon “Yes, we added optical sorting in 2009. In time for the 2012 Bordeaux vintage, we also added the new Oscillys destemmer along with new vertical presses and a peristaltic pump.”

Jeff Leve What was the most difficult or stressful part of the growing season this year at Chateau de Pressac?

Jean Francois Quenon “The spring was very difficult up until the middle of July. Mildew was very present in the vines. We had to very careful at Chateau de Pressac this year.”

Jeff Leve Did you experience issues with flowering with the 2012 de Pressac?

Jean Francois Quenon “The blooming period was so-so, because of cold temperatures and the humidity.”

Jeff Leve What special vineyard techniques do you need to do when the flowering is uneven, as it was this year?

Jean Francois Quenon “We hired more than 40 people for the green harvesting in summer. We eliminated late bunches of grapes and late berries.”

Jeff Leve With those issues and the lack of uniform ripeness, how much time did you need to spend sorting, compared with last year?

Jean Francois Quenon “In the 2012 Bordeaux vintage, it was approximately the same as last year. Our 3 sorting tables 2 vibrating and 1 optical sorting table worked very well.”

Jeff Leve When did you start harvesting?

Jean Francois Quenon “We started picking the Malbec October 4. We finished picking October 22, with the Cabernet Sauvignon.”

Jeff Leve What were the conditions like for you during the harvesting?

Jean Francois Quenon “They were relatively good except the last weekend with the rains.”

Jeff Leve How many pickers did you employ?

Jean Francois Quenon “Up to 65 people when necessary so we could pick at the right moment.”

Jeff Leve Do you think any variety performed better in this specific year?

Jean Francois Quenon “The Merlot did quite good this year.”

Jeff Leve What are your alcohol levels?

Jean Francois Quenon “We reached between 13% and 13.5 % alcohol.”

Jeff Leve What are your yields with your  2012 de Pressac?

Jean Francois Quenon “We will have less than 30 hectoliters per hectare in the 2012 Bordeaux vintage.”